by Megan H. Tracy On Tuesday, May 4, 2016, the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs chair, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), and committee member, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) formally requested a federal criminal investigation into the Gold King Mine spill. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Sens. Barrasso and McCain stated that […]
by J. Matthew Derstine Last week Peabody Energy announced that it filed bankruptcy. Peabody is the nation’s largest coal company. The filing by Peabody comes on the heels of the January 2016 bankruptcy filing by Arch Coal, the nation’s second largest coal producer. Over 26 coal companies have gone bankrupt in the past several years […]
by Christopher W. Payne On February 25, 2016, the United States Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) published proposed amendments to its land use planning rules as a part of its “Planning 2.0” initiative that was launched in May 2015. The purpose of the Planning 2.0 initiative is to modernize the BLM’s planning process and increase public […]
By Denise A. Dragoo On January 15, 2016, Interior Secretary Jewell halted federal coal leasing on public lands. Western coal companies are attempting to sort out the implications of the moratorium and exemptions set out in Secretarial Order 3338. The Order places a “pause” on leasing for an indefinite period while the Secretary undertakes a […]
by Patrick J. Paul On January 14th, the State of New Mexico provided the legally required notice under the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to sue the United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA), the State of Colorado, and others for violating 42 U. S. C. § 6972(a)(1)(B) alleging that it had created an […]
by Jim Allen It’s a familiar admonition to exploration geologists seeking new mineral deposits: Look first “in the shadow of the headframe.” For a variety of reasons, a new source of production is more likely to be found not far from where historic mining took place. But historic mining property comes with a list of […]
by Patrick Paul As we previously reported, less than a month ago contractors working under the guidance and direction of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inadvertently triggered a breach at the abandoned Gold King mine near Silverton, Colorado, thereby unleashing three million gallons of mercury, arsenic, and lead-laden sludge into Cement Creek, a […]
By Stephen W. Smithson The EPA is slowly moving toward requiring the hardrock mining industry to provide financial assurances, pursuant to CERCLA 108(b). Although first required in 1980, these would be the first financial assurance requirements proposed by EPA. EPA recently announced that draft regulations are expected in 2016, with a final rule expected in […]
